Ref Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a Toleman? Is it a Benetton? Is it a Renault? Is it a Lotus? Who knows?

I read somewhere on the Intelnet that Raikoenen elected not to drive for Williams this year because they were unwilling to give him a share in the company, did you know if Eric Boullier of Genii, who IIRC was looking for partners not so long ago, was willing to give Kimi a share in the ownership of the team ?

After his trip into the kitty litter today, should that perhaps read "incontinent"? I loved his excuse that there was something wrong with the back of the car. Yes Felipe, there was - you put the tyres on the wet grass and lost it!

Great pictures as usual, Simon. But who was the naughty historic driver who laid a Robin Hanson-esque oil slick before FP1?

Great pics Simon thanks for taking the time to share them with us. I watched the SPEED channel FP1 stream last night, and, ok, the cars aren't beautiful, but they're not bad either......did I just say that?
Best get myself back to dad's archives......

During the first two wet practice sessions there was a lot of oil dropped on the track by some historic cars (according to the commentator), is there a race for these during the weekend?

There's a daily parade, David, featuring everything from Bugatti T37s and McLaren M1s to assorted Austin Healeys and a Matich SR4. There are about 60 cars and it was one of these that coated the circuit. There is also a race for bygone touring cars...

Fascinating to be able to study F1's latest generation in one place like this. Thanks Simon. There was a Renault - sorry Lotus - a black and gold thing, wotever? - from last year at Goodwood on Wednesday with the Lotus 49 standing nearby. The modern car looked simply ENORMOUS compared to the 1967 design. Of course it offers its occupant enormously greater protection but the contrast between the cars of these two eras is truly startling. A student of packaging design might say offensive. But that is what legislation demands.

Fascinating to be able to study F1's latest generation in one place like this. Thanks Simon. There was a Renault - sorry Lotus - a black and gold thing, wotever? - from last year at Goodwood on Wednesday with the Lotus 49 standing nearby. The modern car looked simply ENORMOUS compared to the 1967 design. Of course it offers its occupant enormously greater protection but the contrast between the cars of these two eras is truly startling. A student of packaging design might say offensive. But that is what legislation demands.

DCN

Thirty-one years of Williams evolution = thirty-one years of aesthetic descent.

Thirty-one years of Williams evolution = thirty-one years of aesthetic descent.

Someone mentioned uncluttered above. The 1981 pic is uncluttered, the 2012 is so stupidly cluttered and ugly. The rule makers should make rules that the car has one wingt each end, not the mad boffins nightmare they currently make. And in comparison the Williams is uncluttered, it only has about 8 elements, all with weird endplates unlike some that seem to have about 30!

"Thirty years of aesthetic descent". I disagree as it has always been the case, it's just progress...David

I think you are in fact agreeing with me, David. I only chose the Williams as I had the wet weather photo but I agree an even better case could be made with a series of marque images including front engines, e.g. Lotus or Ferrari... but perhaps this is not the thread.

Thanks, all, for the nice words. Sorry service has been a bit slow - I still havem't finished sifting through the historic touring car and V8 shots I took earlier in the weekend, such has been the consequence of much rustiness. Here, though, are a few more F1 shots...

Romain Grosjean: fleeting hero.

Look - it moves (just).

Suspect these were faster than the HRTs... and they were only doing parade laps.